Evercade EXP

Obviously this hardware review was coming, if any of you follow my socials, it’s what the vast majority of my posts have been the past month or so. I have so many others I could finish or start but I’m having way too much fun with this device which I ignored for far too long.

I have known about the Evercade systems for a while, I just kinda waded past them like a rogue floating turd in the ocean as it didn’t seem something I necessarily thought was for me, I’m not sure how really. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

This nifty little gadget has been my go to handheld since purchasing it, now it’s not your full console experience nor your Switch or Switch OLED, let alone a steam deck, Odin or whatever else you might choose to play. And, granted all these other devices are probably perfectly capable of running homebrews or emulators but they aren’t the real deal. Not like this. These gaming systems run either relicensed games for their cartridges or even newer indie games stylised and purposely developed for older styled game systems. All neatly packed in their multi game cartridge, as each one comes with a range of 2 to 20 games loaded onto them.

As for the version I chose to buy, I purposely chose to get the white EXP rather then wait for the shinier more spangled version the EXP-R dropping soon. I was far too enticed by the 18 pre-loaded Capcom titles on the system. Namely the original SNES version of Breath of Fire. Having a super Nintendo system myself for a while now, I admittedly haven’t bought any new titles for it as much as I’d like too. This particular title however outside of the re-released Gameboy Advance version I have I can’t get for my region. So, outside of buying a pal or Japanese region SNES and importing this game I can’t play it the way the good lords wish me too. This all changed the moment this glorious little console graced my sweaty palms.

Again a few other titles installed that gave me a happy twinge were Mega man, Mega man X and Street Fighter II Hyper fighting in its full arcade version beauty. So even before any cartridges are snuggly fitted into the back of the console you’ve already got a sickening back catalogue of games to come too terms with. It’s any avid collectors moist laden dream, why complete a game I’ve had collecting dust for three years when I can start 18 more at the same time?

Not to mention the extra 9 hidden games, which can be unlocked in the settings menu under secrets input the correct codes or on the main menu screen, even more endless hours of fun can be had. I won’t ruin the codes for you, but it’s easy enough to find with a certain search engine.

Something small I do enjoy about evercade game boxes are along with the cartridges come these nifty game manuals. Now I think the art of a game manual being included with a game seems to be dying and it’s not particularity a trend I appreciate. These tiny folded laminated joys, come with the games controls and if it’s a fighting game it will even list each characters combos. I just love it. I’m what you’d call a forgetful gamer or just genuinely bad. So, having these to hand make my life just that little bit better.

Depending on what sort of game you are playing, there is a wee button on the bottom left of the console with the letter ‘T’ on it. This being the tate button allows you to flip the rotation of the screen so you can play with just the D-pad and the extra A and B button. This is one of these features that when you read you can do it you kinda just ,’oh cool’ and move on with your life. I say nay to that sort of thinking. It’s old and outdated. Say yes to forward thinking, especially these neat little functions. Some games excel with the in game switch, making for a more fun time.

Even though you can buy a more traditional style home console version of the Evercade, something I’m sure I’ll get in the near future, if you wish to still sit in front of your tv you can get yourself a mini HDMI to HDMI cable slap that bad boy straight into the back of your tv. Then, ta-daaah! You’ve got your EXP as a controller and all the marvels of the games that become alive and in technicolour, all in glorious 50 inched 4K.

The screen isn’t the biggest and ideally for my dead eyesight, it could do with being just a smidge bigger. It’s a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things. The IPS screen that is used is lovely and bright though, the colours do really come through. Having a vibrancy that lets the older games pop more.

I think the system itself has a decent heft to it, it doesn’t feel too over cumbersome and in my beastly hands it does fit nice and snug. Much like the cartridges that slot in and out all nice and smooth like.

I personally find this hard to not give it a 10/10. I just can’t find any faults with it. It does what you want if you want old retro games from the Atari or C64 days. Plus some more modern titles like Duke Nukem, Tomb Raider and some of my personal favourites in the Legacy of Kain series. The battery lasts me about 4 hours which is reasonable. The one big downside I will say there is revolves around the games themselves. Having come somewhat late to the game, with licensing it means some of the cartridges aren’t in print any more as it were. Meaning, they now class as legacy games. Making a couple hard to find and already falling into the deep crevice of second hand store pricing if you can find them. It’s not completely horrendous now but I can imagine in the future it’ll definitely be something that’ll cause a sense of grief.

As previously mentioned overall I rate this a real big 10/10. Certifying this properly Fuckin’ Tasty. I love this contraption and hope to enjoy many more fruitful years enjoying old but new titles all these years later.

Released 15th December 2022.